• 2024-03-13 - Until recently, Arab-Brazilian relations have been largely invisible to area studies and Comparative Literature scholarship. Arab Brazil: Fictions of Ternary Orientalism (Oxford University Press, 2024) is the first book of its kind to highlight the representation of Arab and Muslim immigrants in a century of Brazilian literature and popular culture, from the 1920s to the present, revealing...
  • 2024-03-13 - Josephine, a junior in global studies and gender and women’s studies, as she interviews Ghassan Moussawi, a professor in gender and women’s studies and sociology at the University of Illinois. If professor Moussawi’s classes and research sound interesting to you, check out our programs within the College of LAS, where you’ll be able to explore diverse perspectives!
  • 2024-02-29 -   A UIUC team has competed and distinguished themselves for the first time ever at a regional Model Arab League (MAL) competition. MAL is a diplomatic simulation and leadership development program designed to give students insights into the Middle East and Arab world, as well as build critical leadership skills such as public speaking, writing, and negotiation. On February 15-17, 2024, the...
  • 2023-12-18 - History Professor Kenneth Cuno interviewed by Egyptian newspaper Al-Dustur about his research on the family in 19th century Egypt.
  • 2023-12-12 - Bayat sets out to show how Habermas fails to apply his own ideas to the case of Israel-Palestine. It is a critique from within the logic of Habermasian thought.
  • 2023-09-08 - “With extraordinary linguistic range, Calderwood brings us the voices of Arabs and Muslims who have turned to the distant past of Spain to imagine their future.”—Hussein Fancy, Yale University.  How the memory of Muslim Iberia shapes art and politics from New York and Cordoba to Cairo and the West Bank. During the Middle Ages, the Iberian Peninsula was...
  • 2023-02-23 - Beneath the surface of Islam Valerie Hoffman explores the cultures and subcultures of the Muslim faith   Valerie J. Hoffman, research professor emerita in the Department of Religion, has served at the University of Illinois for more than 39 years. She’s gone from convincing the university that a position in Islamic studies was necessary to...
  • 2022-10-26 - Asef Bayat, the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies at the Department of Sociology at UIUC was recently interviewed by the Tehran daily Etemaad on recent Iranian protests. Shortly after its publication, the Iranian authorities ordered the newspaper to take the interview down from its website. The interview had already gone viral in Iran and abroad, and...
  • 2022-10-16 -   Mabrook (Congratulations!) to Dr. Eman Saadah and the UIUC Arabic Debate team who competed in last week's Arabic Debate at Stanford University! Team member Suad Al Jawhari received first place at the national level for the AFL (Arabic as a Foreign Language) category, and the UIUC team was ranked # 2 nationally...
  • 2021-10-12 - Thursday, Oct. 7 Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt Thursday, Oct. 28 Sonita Wednesday, Nov. 17 We Loved Each Other So Much (residents of Beirut discuss their love for Lebanese singer Fairuz) Register Here!      
  • 2021-09-14 - Come join Professor Nazif Shahrani for "Afghanistan: Return to Taliban Rule after 20 Years of U.S.-NATO War on Terror?" on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, 7:00-8:30 pm (CST) on Zoom! Register at: https://tinyurl.com/6z99k33p      
  • 2021-03-02 - Thursday, March 25, 2021 7:00-8:30 pm (CST) prior registration required: https://tinyurl.com/4m33wnd9      
  • 2021-02-16 - Join us for an enriching conversation on Turkish coffee culture and tradition along with its journey from past to present. You will also learn how to prepare delicious Turkish coffee through a live demonstration. Our expert guests will talk you through the process while you observe the coffee-making experience. Bon appetite! Afiyet olsun! When: Feburary 23rd, 2021 | 12:00-1:00 PM CST Where:...
  • 2020-12-02 - Executive Director Jerry Davila has announced that Professor Waïl Hassan has been appointed Director of the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies beginning January, 2021. Dr. Hassan is a Professor in the Program in Comparative and World Literature and the Department of English.  His scholarship, which focuses on modern Arabic literatures, includes the books Immigrant...
  • 2020-11-15 - Department of Education Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Languages (UISFL) program awarded to the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (CSAMES) for the 2020-2022 academic years.  The funding amount is $99,042 with cost-share contributions totaling $133,559 in Year 1 and $99,932 with matching funds of $128,494 in Year 2.   Through CSAMES’ administration, the...